FAQs
FAQ
At Firetree, we are committed to producing bean-to-bar, single-estate chocolate of the highest standard. Our facility, in the heart of Cambridgeshire in the UK, is regularly audited to comply with Salsa food-safety standards, Kosher and Halal requirements.
We provide information about each of our products in the Ingredients and Nutritional information section and we are happy to help with any questions via our online chat at www.firetreechocolate.com or you can email the team at info@firetreechocolate.com
Q: Is your Chocolate Vegetarian or Vegan ?
A: All Firetree Chocolate products are suitable for Vegetarians and most are suitable for Vegans. We advise you to check the Ingredient & Nutritional Values tab on every product before purchase. All of our chocolate is manufactured on equipment that also processes milk and nuts.
Q: Is Firetree chocolate Halal ?
A: All Firetree chocolate is suitable for a Halal diet. We are certified by Halal Certification Europe to produce chocolate.
Q: Is Firetree chocolate Kosher ?
A: The Firetree facility is certified by KLBD to supply Kosher chocolate. There are several products that are not certified Kosher. Please check each product for specific information.
Q: Is Firetree chocolate suitable for a Coeliac diet ?
A: You should always seek medical advice from a professional before choosing to eat or not eat a particular food concerned with a diet or medical condition. We can, however, tell you that gluten is not in any of the ingredients used to manufacture Firetree Chocolate.
We do make an Oat Chocolate and Oat Cappuccino Chocolate. Both are classified as gluten-free, and this requires some explanation.
Oat is included in the list of grains known as “Cereals containing gluten” that make up the list of 14 major allergens outlined in the “food Information” regulations 1169/2011. As such, it is required to list Oat flour, an ingredient in our Oat Chocolate, in bold as an allergen.
However, Oat does not naturally contain gluten. Gluten is usually found in Oats because it is grown in very close proximity to, or on land that has previously grown gluten containing cereals (eg wheat, rye, barley etc). The Oat seeds are also processed in Mills on the same equipment that processes gluten containing cereals. Thus, the oats become “contaminated” with gluten from other cereals.
There are a few ways in which gluten-free Oats are produced. In some cases, Oats are grown separately from other cereals and processed on machinery that is either dedicated solely to processing Oats or has been cleaned and tested for the absence of gluten. Optical and mechanical sorting can also be used to remove any gluten containing seeds that may be mixed in with Oat seeds before milling. Random sampling of the oat flour for gluten is also used to check gluten levels.
Food can be legally classed as gluten-free if it contains less than 20 parts per million (0.002%) of gluten as sold to the consumer (Presence of gluten in food regulations 828/2014). The Oat flour, which is only one small ingredient in our Oat Chocolate, contains less than 10 parts per million (0.001%) of gluten.
Q: Is Firetree chocolate suitable for a Keto diet ?
A: You should always see medical advice from a professional before choosing to eat or not eat a particular food concerned with a diet or medical condition. Generally speaking, the higher the cocoa % in chocolate the fewer carbohydrates. This is due to increasingly lower levels of sugar the higher the cocoa %. 100% cocoa has the lowest level of carbohydrates.
Q: What allergens are in Firetree chocolate ?
A: There are 14 major allergens as defined by the “food information” regulations 1169/2011; Cereals containing gluten, Crustaceans, Eggs, Fish, Peanuts, Soya, Milk, Nuts, Celery, Mustard, Sesame seeds, Sulphur dioxide & Sulphites, Lupin, Molluscs.
Firetree Chocolate may contain dairy or nuts, so we advise you to check the Ingredient & Nutritional Values tab on every product before purchase. All of our chocolate is manufactured on equipment that also processes milk and nuts.
However, an explanation is required regarding the Oat Chocolate and Oat Cappuccino chocolate we make which, although containing Oats, are classified as Gluten-free.
Oat is included in the list of grains known as “Cereals containing gluten” that make up the list of 14 major allergens outlined in the “food Information” regulations 1169/2011. As such, it is required to list Oat flour, an ingredient in our Oat Chocolate, in bold as an allergen.
However, Oat does not naturally contain gluten. Gluten is usually found in Oats because it is grown in very close proximity to, or on land that has previously grown gluten containing cereals (eg wheat, rye, barley etc). The Oat seeds are also processed in Mills on the same equipment that processes gluten containing cereals. Thus, the oats become “contaminated” with gluten from other cereals.
There are a few ways in which gluten-free Oats are produced. In some cases, Oats are grown separately from other cereals and processed on machinery that is either dedicated solely to processing Oats or has been cleaned and tested for the absence of gluten. Optical and mechanical sorting can also be used to remove any gluten containing seeds that may be mixed in with Oat seeds before milling. Random sampling of the oat flour for gluten is also used to check gluten levels.
Food can be legally classed as gluten-free if it contains less than 20 parts per million (0.002%) of gluten as sold to the consumer (Presence of gluten in food regulations 828/2014). The Oat flour, which is only one small ingredient in our Oat Chocolate, contains less than 10 parts per million (0.001%) of gluten.
Q: Is Firetree chocolate gluten free ?
A: Gluten is not in any of the ingredients used to manufacture Firetree Chocolate.
We do make an Oat Chocolate and Oat Cappuccino Chocolate. Both are classified as gluten-free, and this requires some explanation.
Oat is included in the list of grains known as “Cereals containing gluten” that make up the list of 14 major allergens outlined in the “food Information” regulations 1169/2011. As such, it is required to list Oat flour, an ingredient in our Oat Chocolate, in bold as an allergen.
However, Oat does not naturally contain gluten. Gluten is usually found in Oats because it is grown in very close proximity to, or on land that has previously grown gluten containing cereals (eg wheat, rye, barley etc). The Oat seeds are also processed in Mills on the same equipment that processes gluten containing cereals. Thus, the oats become “contaminated” with gluten from other cereals.
There are a few ways in which gluten-free Oats are produced. In some cases, Oats are grown separately from other cereals and processed on machinery that is either dedicated solely to processing Oats or has been cleaned and tested for the absence of gluten. Optical and mechanical sorting can also be used to remove any gluten containing seeds that may be mixed in with Oat seeds before milling. Random sampling of the oat flour for gluten is also used to check gluten levels.
Food can be legally classed as gluten-free if it contains less than 20 parts per million (0.002%) of gluten as sold to the consumer (Presence of gluten in food regulations 828/2014). The Oat flour, which is only one small ingredient in our Oat Chocolate, contains less than 10 parts per million (0.001%) of gluten.
Q: Is Firetree chocolate nut-free ?
A: The majority of Firetree Chocolate products do not contain nuts, but some do, so we advise you to check the Ingredient & Nutritional Values tab on every product before purchase. All of our chocolate is manufactured on equipment that also processes milk and nuts.
Q; Is Firetree chocolate dairy free ?
A: We have both dairy-based chocolate, and dairy-free chocolate, so we advise you to check the Ingredient & Nutritional Values tab on every product before purchase. All of our chocolate is manufactured on equipment that also processes milk and nuts.
Q: Is Firetree chocolate sugar free ?
A: Sugar is added to all our Chocolate except for 100% Cocoa varieties which have no added sugar.
Q: How much sugar is in Firetree chocolate ?
A: All chocolates will contain a small amount of natural sugar from the cocoa beans. We add unrefined cane sugar to help bring out and compliment the complex flavours inherent in the chocolate. The amount of sugar added depends on the type of chocolate. The higher the cocoa % the lower the amount of sugar added.
Q: How much Caffeine is in the Oat Cappuccino 25g & Papua New Guinea Coffee 25g bars ?
A: Both bars contain around 40 – 45 mg of caffeine per 25g bar.
Q: Is Firetree chocolate organic ?
A: Though many of the farmers that produce our cocoa beans use organic practices to produce the beans, they are not certified organic, so we do not claim certified organic status.
Q: What is lecithin ?
A: In food technology Lecithin is described as an emulsifier. It is generic term used to describe a substance which is amphiphilic and assists in the stabilisation of two mediums that are normally immiscible. That’s the science. What that means is, it allows different ingredients to mix together that wouldn’t normally mix. The most common example is oil and water (e.g., to make margarine or mayonnaise). When making chocolate, it helps the ingredients mix together and to stay in place. This makes the liquid chocolate flow better during the manufacturing process.
Firetree Chocolate uses only sunflower lecithin as it is both allergen free and GMO free.
Q: Is the packaging recyclable ?
A: The packaging we post our chocolate in and any dividers inside, if we have used them, are recyclable. The carboard sleeve or paper sleeve that each bar is packed in is recyclable.
The gold foil wrapping on our 70g bars is recyclable. The wrap on our 25g bars is not currently recycled. All boxes and tubes are recycable as card and the plastic tray inside the Thins boxes can be recycled with kerbside recycling.
Q: What cocoa beans are used in Firetree chocolate ?
A: The bean types that we use are a mix of Forastero (Amelonado) and Trinitario.
Q: Do you support Fair Trade/sustainable farming?
A: Firetree chocolate is not Fair Trade certified. However, sustainability is at the heart of our chocolate. We know all the cocoa bean farmers personally and make regular trips to the cocoa farms to meet the farmer, to inspect the farm and to further our relationship. We check employment records, contracts and paybooks and talk to as many employees as possible to verify what we have seen. We check the ages of employees to ensure no child labour is used. We pay the farmers directly rather than use a middleman to ensure the farmer gets more for their hard work. We pay a substantial premium above the market rate, giving our farmers the chance to provide for their families and commit to high agricultural standards. We also work closely with relevant Government agencies and independent NGO’s (non-Governmental Organisations).
All the farms we purchase cocoa beans from are family owned and practice multi-cropping to help promote biodiversity and encourage symbiotic planting relationships and pest control. The farms are all based on rich volcanic soil that require little, if any, fertiliser.
Q: Do you use child Labour ?
Sustainable cocoa
We purchase our cocoa direct from farmers we know and visit. Before selecting a cocoa farmer/supplier, we conduct background research to establish that the farmer the legitimate owner/ leaseholder of the farm. This will reveal if the land is agricultural land or illegal land potentially carved out of protected rainforest.
An audit of the farm also reveals how the farm in managed in terms of sustainable agricultural practices such as “good agricultural practices,” multi-cropping and kitchen garden integration.
Ethical cocoa
Before we take on a farmer/supplier we establish who owns the farm, who is employed on the farm and verification of signed pay books & payment at the agreed national pay level for employees.
In the case of complex family farms, we establish who the owners and participants in the agricultural business are, and ensure the “participants”, both men and women, are aware of the agreed contract price and where and when the money for the cocoa will be paid, ensuring as much clarity and transparency as possible.
Firetree Chocolate pays over the average farm gate price for our selected cocoa, ensuring the selling price to the farmers is sustainable.
The countries where Firetree Chocolate buys its cocoa have strict educational attendance requirements for all children up to the national minimum age (15 or 16 dependant on the country). In these countries the school attendance is mandatory and enforced. Nevertheless, before taking on any farmer/supplier we will cross check with the local authorities that the potential farmer/supplier is known and registered.
During the audit we identify any person on the farm who appears to be young/underage and cross check their age against their paybook. To date, we have never found any underage people working on farms which supply us, but this action reinforces our position on child employment with our farmers/suppliers.
Finally, before we agree any supply contract, we demand the farmer/supplier agrees to the National Law of their country and do not seek to, or actually have, anyone under the national age for children working on their farm.